Barcelona wedding with a view of the Mediterranean

Spain has been playing an integral part in this couple’s history. They met as college students while studying abroad in Madrid. Says Alexandra, the bride: “We lived about 15 minutes away from each other and turns out we had been to some of the same parties, but we didn’t met until a mutual friend introduced us in Spain. 6 years after we met, my husband planned a whirlwind trip through Spain that ended at the most romantic vineyard in Portugal where he proposed under the stars.”

It was pretty much a no-brainer for them celebrate their nuptials in Spain as well, and they decided on Barcelona and a venue that met the groom’s one request: A view of the Mediterranean. Roberto y Maria Photography were there to capture their magical day in all its glory, take it away guys…

From the bride: “We felt it was important to design and print both English and Spanish versions of all wedding invitations and stationary. To be able to do this within our budget, we had to forgo some of the custom calligraphy we would have liked and instead got creative. The groom hand-drew the custom maps of Barcelona on the inner envelopes of our guests invitations, while I tested multiple ways to create a custom calligraphy look with our home printer. After lots of trial and error and many visits to our local stationary store, we were finally able to create the elegant look of custom calligraphy (that many guests complimented) at a fraction of the price. We designed and printed both English and Spanish versions of the rehearsal dinner invitations, information cards menus, table cards, seating cards, and addressed all invitations with our ‘faux-ligraphy’.”

“We agreed from day one of planning that we didn’t want a cookie cutter wedding and wanted to make sure that when our family came to celebrate this day with us that they would enjoy as much as we would. Our goal was to make everyone feel like they were at cozy family dinner. Choosing a venue from New York proved to be difficult, but after lengthy Internet searches and the help of local family members, we were able to find the perfect location. The rural home turned hotel was exactly what we had been looking for: elegant, rustic, homey, full of well thought out details and of course met the grooms one request, a view of the Mediterranean. It sits on a mountain over looking the town of San Vincent de Montalt, which is about 20 minutes up the coast from Barcelona.”

“Rather than flying in American vendors, we felt it was important to support local talent so over a few months we slowly surrounded ourselves with a group of amazingly talented locals. They were all open to helping us build and mold a personalized wedding even beyond their required roles. They all welcomed us with open arms and were many times our saving grace when we couldn’t be in Barcelona in person.”

“By doing the stationery on our own, it allowed us to add more custom touches throughout the wedding such as weekend welcome bags, monogrammed napkins for cocktail hour, monogrammed matchboxes for the cigars handed out during the reception, hand stitched lavender filled sachets for the ceremony, hand painted abanicos (Spanish fans) for guest to keep cool during the day and pashminas to keep them warm in the evening breeze.”

A word of advice regarding the organization of a destination wedding? “I would recommend to do lots of homework and really trust your instincts when chosing vendors and details. Once you pick your vendors, keep in touch!!! This is especially hard planning a destination wedding but we had spent so much time speaking with our photographers that by the time the wedding day came around, they felt like part of our family. We put our complete trust in their visions and professionalism, so we were able to sit back and totally enjoy the day without worrying about that “perfect shot”.

Be true to yours and don’t pick something just because you saw it in someone else’s wedding. At the end of the day, our wedding we really felt like “us” in so many ways, because we made sure that everything we chose was true to us as a couple. We couldn’t have imagined a better way to celebrate our union as husband and wife than with our family and close friends under the stars overlooking the Mediterranean – it was truly a dream brought to life.”

Is there anything else you’d like to share? “Because our wedding was in a quaint coastal town about 20 minutes north of the city, we decided to do a day after photo shoot. Even after a long night, our photographers were great sports and totally delivered for us!! They picked us up and drove us around to quiet corners of our favorite neighborhood, Barcelona’s gothic quarter. We cherish these pictures because they not only embody our love for the city but they also capture that amazing day-after glow that can only newlyweds exude.”

Hi there! I am Esther, and this blog is where I curate the most stylish Mediterranean weddings to inspire brides who want to get married in Southern Europe.
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